A marvelous city like Budapest is packed with exciting sights and historical buildings. Find your way to the top attractions and the best sightseeing tours to show you the capital of Hungary from the best side.

Going out in the evening for a nice dinner or a few drinks in a bar? Here you find the best rated restaurants and bars in Budapest sorted by style and also a lot of information about the Hungarian cuisine.

Budapest Sightseeing – Tours, Guides, Attractions

Budapest is a very historical city with many influences from other countries and cultures. Let it be the Turks who invaded Hungary or remember the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy which brought a lot of tradition from the West to Budapest and the rest of Hungary. Not only the influences from other cultures makes Budapest interesting but also historical buildings, the Hungarian traditions and of course the food make Budapest one of the hotspots in Europe for holidays. Budapest is very often rewarded and listed in for example “Top 10 Travel Spots in Europe” or “Best capitals in the World” and so on. As there is so much to see and to do in Budapest you might not be able to stuff that all in the time you are visiting I think you will need guidance with attractions and sights to see, tours to take or tour guides to book for guided group or private tours.

Recently added Attractions in Budapest

Budapest is stuffed with great attractions and sights from the past. It will take way more than a weekend to explore all the spots and sights so bring time with you and get a good guide. I tell you that you need to come back next year because you haven’t seen even a fraction of the beautiful attractions Budapest has to offer.

The Budapest Eye is one of the newest attractions in the capital of Hungary. The giant Ferris Wheel located in the center of Budapest gives you the perfect view over the roofs of the Pest side with sneaks to Buda as well. For 2.400 HUF you get a beautiful view over Budapest including famous attractions such as the famous Andrássy út, the Basilica or the Budapest Castle District. The fee is valid for 3 rounds with the Budapest Eye including some stops on the top but overall the time seems to fly. During the Sziget Festival the Budapest Eye is located on the festival ground at Óbuda Sziget and you can take a ride there to have the best view on the festival. A great experience to view the festival from above which you usually only have on pictures. The Budapest Eye is 65 meters high so if you are afraid of heights most probably this is not the thing to do for you. The 41 gondolas with place for…

Hungarian history is very rich but also has some dark eras; the Hungarian Holocaust being one of the darkest of those eras. The Holocaust Memorial Center is dedicated to paying tribute to the victims of the Hungarian Holocaust. The complex is vast and includes a synagogue, museum, a glass memorial wall which is found in the courtyard and which is inscribed with more than 500 000 names of the victims of the Hungarian Holocaust in order to pay tribute to the huge loss of life. The main purpose of the glass memorial wall is to ensure that the countless innocent Hungarians that were savagely murdered are never forgotten. Furthermore, the memorial wall also serves as a constant reminder of what hate can cause in order to ensure that it never happens again. The Holocaust Memorial Center contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibit is called from Deprivation of Rights to Genocide an is dedicated to the memory of the countless victims of the holocaust in Hungary. The exhibition…

The old civilian town Aquincum is a definite must see for any tourist visiting Budapest as it is situated on ancient roman ruins. From the first century BC to the fifth century AD Western Hungary was part of the Roman Empire and it was called Pannonia. Pannonia’s largest town was Aquincum which many say is the ancestor of Budapest. Today, It gives tourists an insight into the extremely rich history of the city. It was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. Back in the roman era it was originally settled by a Celtic tribe called the Eravisci and it was used as a military base since it was part of the Roman border protection system called “limes”. The city gradually grew around the military base and became the capital city of Pannonia Inferior in AD 106 when the Romans reorganized Pannonia. The city continued to grow and by the end of the second century contained thirty to forty thousand inhabitants. Those inhabitants got…

The museum of Hungarian Agriculture is the biggest museum of agriculture in Europe. It is located at the Castle Vajdahunyad which can be found at the truly breathtaking City Park in Budapest, Hungary. The Castle was designed by architect Ignac Alpar who used different architectural styles from various eras for the different buildings encompassing the castle. These styles include Renaissance and Baroque, Gothic and Romanesque. Furthermore, the architecture was also designed to mirror several landmark building of the Kingdom of HUngary. Construction began in 1896 using cardboard and wood to build the original structure. Since the Castle enjoyed huge popularity with the locals and tourists alike the city decided to make it a more permanent structure and reconstruction on the buildings began in 1904 and was completed in 1908. The Hungarian Royal Agriculture Museum was opened in 1907 and is one of the must see sights of the Vajdahunyad castle today. The museum has a truly extravagant design with beautifully painted walls, carved pillars, marble staircases, enormous crystal chandeliers and…

A city divided into two by the Danube river, Budapest, is truly a city of bridges. With eight major bridges spanning the Danube there are many different designs and architectural styles for bridge lovers. The most modern of these bridges is found at the most Northern point of the Capital city of Hungary and it is called the Megyeri Bridge, previously known as the Northern M0 Danube Bridge. It is a cable-stayed bridge connecting Buda (the western side of the city) to Pest (the eastern side of the city) and is truly aesthetically breathtaking. It is Hungary’s fist cable-stayed bridge and is a big part of the M0 highway which is planned to go around Budapest. The bridge is made up of five parts and has a width of 35 meters and a full length of 1862 meters. Construction on the bridge took approximately two and a half years and it was opened to the public on September 13th 2008 with its official inauguration being held on the 30th of…

The Vajdahunyad Castle is a definite must see tourist attraction located in the City Park of Budapest, Hungary. The construction on the castle began in 1896, originally made of wood and cardboard and was a huge success and a very popular site with both the locals and tourists. It was built as part of the Millennial Exhibition celebrating the thousand years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 896. Due to its massive popularity with residents and tourists alike, the city decided to make it a permanent structure. The reconstruction of the castle began in 1904 using stone and brick and closely following the original architecture and was completed in 1908. The architecture of the castle has special importance as it was designed ,by Ignac Alpar, to portray several landmark buildings of the Kingdom of Hungary especially the Hunyad Castle in Transylvania. Furthermore, the architecture also contains parts of buildings from various time periods and as a result displays different architectural styles such as Renaissance and…

The Mesemuzeum (pronounced Mesheh-museum)is an interactive, indoor adventure space for young children to run, play, and explore the basic elements of fairy tales. There is a reception area designed specifically for children that provides a space for workshops, art projects, movie screenings, shadow-puppet shows, and even includes a stage for spontaneous performances. In the entrance, kids encounter a mythic fountain and a climbing tree, while magic mirrors decorate one wall. There is a permanent “exhibit,” or rather play-space, called The Hungarian Fairytale World that demonstrates the Hungarian fairy tale archetypes: A mountain crossing, tests to complete, and obstacles to overcome. The dark and magical forest takes skill and daring to cross, and there are various costumes to help! If the adventurers succeed, they will ascend to the royal throne. Although the museum is primarily in Hungarian, the staff all speak English and are very welcoming and eager to show everyone around. There is hidden reading material for the kids to discover inside, currently only in Hungarian, but the staff are…

A very fascinating part of Hungarian history is located just beneath the Buda Castle Hill called the Hospital in the Rocks. This hospital was built during WWII, when Castle District was part of the Government Quarter. It was largely used when Budapest was under siege from July 1945 and then during the 1956 Revolution to treat wounded civilians and soldiers. Between 1958 and 1962 it was expanded to withstand potential chemical and nuclear attacks during the Cold War In 1941, a section of the 6 mile stretch of interconnected caves and tunnels, was converted into a military hospital staffed from the civilian Szent János hospital. It was then reconstructed and fortified and used as an air raid shelter after the Red Army broke through the Attila Line and encircled Budapest in December 1944. It was upgraded and extended to a nuclear bunker in the early ’60s because of the Cold War. Nowadays it is an exhibition displaying the life in the hospital with wax figures as well as the history…

The Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája) is located next to the National Theater found in Ferencváros a district of Budapest next to Lágymányosi Rákóczi bridge and consist of a truly magnificent conglomerate of cultural venues. The spectacular building is part of the new millennium city centre complex which is found along the Danube waterfront as is also referred to by many as the Hungarian cultural centre. The compound consists of the Bela Bartok National Concert Hall, The Ludwig Museum and the Festival Theater and is thought by many to be a new European cultural hub. The three institutions were all built in parallel over a period of just over two years. Due to this coordination the compound has a beautiful look with truly unique architecture which have helped it win numerous prestigious awards such as the FIABCI Prix d’Execellence in 2006 and the FIABCI audience award in 2007 to name a few.The compound was created by the Trigranit Development Corporation and was designed by Demeter and Partners Architectural Office. The…

The Heroes’ Square in Budapest is one of the town’s landmarks and a secured place in every guidebook about Budapest one which you can often even find it on the cover. All the tourists, expats, business travelers and also locals are thrilled each time they see this spot with the Millennium Monument, the city park next to it, the museums and all the beauty around the Heroes’ Square. Budapest is really full of historical sights and beautiful buildings but the Heroes’ Square is another dimension and it cannot be left out to not take a picture of yourself in front of it. Best shot guarantee is at night when all is illuminated. Located at the end of the beautiful Andrássy út it faces downtown Budapest and the nice living area around. The Heroes’ Square and its surrounding What many people call the Heroes’ Square is actually just the square itself but on and of course around it are wonderful sights and places to go to. On the square itself is…

Recently added Tours

Enjoy the beautiful wine region of Eger with its classy wines and beautiful landscape. You will visit the Basilica and a 16th-century castle which is visible from almost everywhere in the beutiful town of Eger. The heart is the view of traditional wine cellars in Eger including a three-course restaurant lunch before tasting five wonderful wines from the region Eger in a local and private wine cellar. Eger is a wine region that is underestimated and not well known due to the famous Tokaj wine region which is not far away but the wines are very good and tasty so this tour will give you an insight and of course you will have the chance to boy some wines for home. Included in the Tour : Guided excursion to the wine region of Eger Admission to the Basilica and castle Three-course lunch with wine Tasting of five local wines Commentary from your guide in English and German Roundtrip transportation via coach Hotel pick-up in Budapest Important Information Start: 9 a.m….

See a new face of the ruin bars! You thought ruin bars are equal to nightlife? It is time we showed you that there is really more the ruinbars than just drinking beers in the coolest designed locations ever. We’ll show you the charming morning faces of these bars, where jazz plays softly in the background, you can browse antique and retro objects that conjure up the past. Join a tour with a real local insider and expert who will handpick the best programs for your Sunday. You can taste the delicious products of local gardeners on the farmers market. Yes, you have heard right, you can buy tomatoes on the same spot where you got tipsy a few hours before in the night. We will offer you exquisite coffee to charge you full of energy at one of the best coffee places in town. Chill out with us in the nicest gardens and courtyards, see the synagogues, discover the amazing new–wave street-food culture and get a glimpse on local…

A great opportunity to start the evening, spend a refreshing afternoon on board! Be the part of a special „wine tasting” cruise, relax in the company of the most famous Hungarian wine selections. Hungarian wine culture and hospitality are well known all around the world, join us and we show you why! The spectacular view of the always vibrant Budapest will make your cruise more memorable (The bank of the Danube is the part of UNESCO World heritage). During the trip you can taste 7 different type Hungarian wines from variant organic wineries includes the famous Tokaj wine! The cruise lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, and our bar on board is open for the purchase of further Hungarian wines, Tokaj wines /other beverages. Between two sips from two different wines we offer you scones to have the taste better. We guarantee all the ingredients for having a memorable time! Price Includes limited (8 cl) tasting from 7 different types of Hungarian wine. Wine list to taste: Tokaji Furmint Grand Selection…

Every Friday and Saturday you have the unique chance to join the Budapest Boat Party Cruise and combine a unique sightseeing experience with party, flirting, dancing and drinking. From 11 at night you will ship up and down the river Danube for 1,5 hours and view the UNESCO World Heritage protected “Banks of the Danube” by night while having drinks and dance on deck with friends and those who might be in future. This is an ideal party or tour to start into the vibrating Budapest Nightlife which kicks off after midnight only. It is magical to see the Danube shore by night and combining this with fun and party is even better. Included in the price is the regular ticket (12,49€) for the Party Cruise as well as one welcome drink but you can also purchase a “extra beverage ticket” which includes a voucher for extra 5.000HUF drinks for only 31,06€ which obliges you to drink all drinks from the bar during the 1,5 hours of the tour. After…

This Cocktail & Beer Cruise is a great opportunity to explore the city on a boat during a Budapest River Cruise while having some refreshing drinks with friends and maybe soon-to-be friends. Next to a selection of cocktails or a beer you will be offered a unique experience to explore the city from its center, the river Danube. The Banks of the Danube are a UNESCO World Heritage site so you will see a lot of great sights and attractions of Budapest during this cocktail & beer cruise. This cruise is a very good opportunity to start the evening and get in the mood for a long night out in the famous Budapest nightlife. The ticket includes either 2 cocktails of the list below or 3 pints of beer (0,5l) for the duration of the tour which lasts 1,5 hours. Of course you can order more drinks if the included cocktails or beer are not enough for you. Next to your drinks you will be served some snacks. The choice…

The 3 Hour Bus Tour through Budapest starts from the beautiful chain bridge and will first pass the Parliament building and cross the river Danube via the Margaret bridge to reach the Buda side. You will now drive up to the Castle District and stop for a short walk to visit the main attractions such as the Matthias Church, the Fishermen’s Bastion from which you will have a spectacular view over Budapest to take pictures. After hopping back on the bus you will be drive by bus back to the Pest side and cross the Elisabeth Bridge to watch the Central Market Hall, the The Synagogue (the second biggest Synagogue in Europe) and than reach the city park. Around the city park you will see the world famous Széchényi Baths, the Budapest Zoo and of course the iconic Heroes’ Square where you will stop to watch the statutes of the most famous Hungarian kinds and dukes. After getting back on the bus you will drive along the Andrássy út and…

The Coffee & Cruise tour along the Danube shore offers you a great opportunity to see the historical sights among the Danube including the Bank of the Danube which in itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within 1 relaxing hour accompanied with a cup of coffee, tea or a beverage you can enjoy the beauty of the capital of Hungary and the river Danube by daylight. Also you will be served little snacks to eat such as nachos chips, bread and dripping and bread with a Hungarian speciality – “Körözött”. This tour is a wonderful opportunity to spend an unforgettable day discovering Budapest and be on the fresh air. Of course if the weather is nice you will be able to sit on deck and have the perfect view on all the sights that are located among the Danube including all historical buildings, beautiful hotels, the Budapest bridges and the beautiful Margaret Island. Coffee Cruise Budapest Information The cruise starts at 12:00 and lasts for 1 hour. Coffee Cruise…

The Hungarian cuisine is boiled down by stereotypes to Goulash Soup, Salami and Paprika but it has so much more to offer. To show you the diversity of the Hungarian kitchen the Budapest Food & Wine Tour is a perfect 3 hour program. During this program you will see the Central Market Hall, one of the most impressive market halls in Europe, and the products available in Hungary which are not only paprika, tomatoes and salamis. Afterwards be invited to a 5-tier wine tasting of great Hungarian wines, a 3 course menu cooked for you as well as an informative session about the secrets of the Hungarian kitchen and recipes that you can cook at home. What will happen on the Food & Wine Tour in Budapest? The Budapest Food and Wine Tour takes approximately 3 hours and consists of 6 major parts to inspire your mind and kill your hunger. You will get an 360 degree insight in the Hungarian cuisine which will make use of all your six…

The Danube River Cruise takes you among the Budapest panorama which was added to the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO. On this Danube Cruise you will see why it is on the list, especially at night when the Danube banks are lid up. A magical and unforgettable tour is waiting for you! The River Danube is starting in Germany and ends in the Black Sea while flowing through several capitals and important cities on the way. So it does through the center of Budapest as well which offers you a perfect view on one of the most beautiful panoramas in Europe. Among this trip you will see many sights that make Budapest what it is today. What will I see during the Danube River Cruise? The Danube River Cruise takes you along the famous Gellért Hill with the Citadella on top, among the Buda Castle district with the Royal Castle, the Fishermen’s Bastion and the Matthias Church and on the other side you will see for example the Hungarian…

What do you learn during this tour? To look for touching details To create good inside photos To make close-ups To control depth of field To edit photos in Instagram or Facebook Features of this walk: We will walk through the busy city centre Flat surface, no stairs or steep streets Suitable for every experience level, also beginners without photography knowledge Suitable for all types of camera. Smartphone is nice for Instagram conversions, but also has its limitations. Think about shooting in darker situations and creating a blurry background. For these purposes a DSLR is much better. The choice is yours. Retro is trendy, in Budapest too! And the city is still (and again) packed with retro. Although there were many modernisations in the last decades, you can still find lovely retro elements from the sixties, seventies and eighties. Old buses, metro stations, buildings and details, such as shop windows and billboards, which have come unharmed from the 20th century, all over the place! But in addition you can also…

Budapest Reviews – Restaurants, Bars, Clubs

Over the years living in Budapest I have visited more than 100 restaurants, 50+ Clubs and many bars as well as Cafés, pubs and much more. I started BudapestAgent as a kind of diary of the places I have visited and by now it is a really large selection of spots that I have reviewed. Some are hotspots ever since, many have closed down already and as I am trying out many new places the list gets bigger and bigger. The past years the restaurant scene in Budapest has developed towards multinational, higher standards restaurants with a lot of good cuisines, brilliant chefs and places with very nice interior. Read along the latest reviews I have written and check more places via the top menu.

Restaurant Reviews

Ramenka is a small but stylish and good restaurant in the Jewish quarter focussing on serving superb Ramen – a Japanese noodle soup. If you are looking for other food then Ramen you better go and choose another restaurant as Ramenka solely serves soup except from a few side dishes. Nevertheless if you want to eat a fabolous Ramen Ramenka is your place to go to. Located just across the famous ruin pub Szimpla kert Ramenka has a top location with tons of people passing by. The restaurant is very minimal and fairly small so you don’t want to go there to have a romntic candle light dinner with your partner but rather get a quick but awesome soup on a Saturday afteroon before you pop in the city. With only a few places in the restaurant you need to plan some time for waiting to be seated but once you sit and ordered you will get your really tasty soup. There is not really more to say about Ramenka…

Trófea is an all you can eat restaurant chain all over the city including currently 6 restaurants. Mainly being a grill or barbeque restaurant in Trófea you can choose the meat yourself out of the fridge and give it to the grill master who then freshly prepares it for you in front of your eyes. But that is not all, you also get fresh salads, grilled vegetables or fish, other dishes such as stews and of course a large variety of side dishes and desserts. In a nutshell that is it but the variety of food is just endless with mainly typical Hungarian dishes such as soups, pickles or stews but you can also have BBQ chicken wings or other dishes from all over the world. The heart obviously is the grill where you pick your meat and it is being grilled freshly for you. Sometimes if you get in early and are lucky you might even catch some nice steak or shrimps and not only chicken and pork meat….

NOTE: If there is any joke made about Hungary and hungry I’ll be very very disappointed and delete this post! Jamie’s Italian in Budapest is going to open up in Spring 2016! What can you expect in the Jamie Oliver Restaurant in Budapest? Jamie Oliver without a doubt is one of the best chefs around the globe and for sure the best known TV chef. But this doesn’t make a great restaurant yet. Browsing through the web and checking independent reviews about the existing Jamie’s Italian in the UK are not as good as the name might be. “What a disappointment – Mr Oliver cashing out” “Disappointing!” “bad, bad, bad” These are just a few reviews that I have found but of course you have good ones as well. And yes, the positive reviews are many more than the negative. But 132 “Terrible” and 203 “Poor” reviews do speak a clear language. Or is it just people who want to give bad reviews because it is Jamie Oliver? Address: Buda…

Finding true vegan restaurants in Budapest is not too hard as this is a very vegan friendly city and once you have a look around you will be able to chose from several great vegan restaurants. I myself am not vegan so it took me some research to find them online but now I have gathered a nice little list of 100% vegan restaurants. No restaurants that seel 95 meat dishes and 1 salad which is vegan but these restaurants are exactly what you are looking for. Vegan, creative and in Budapest. List of Vegan Restaurants in Budapest Vega City Vega City is located in the heart of Budapest between Astoria and Kalvin tér. They offer daily different dishes from hearty dishes including cabbage and dumplings to more exotic food with coconut and curry. Web: https://www.facebook.com/vegacitybudapest Nemsüti Nemsüti is near Margaret Bridge on Pest side and offer weekly menus including soups, sandwiches, pasta, salads and more. Web: http://www.nemsuti.hu/ Kozmosz Kozmosz is in the 6th district of Budapest and they say…

Hai Nam Pho Bistro bistro is a small, simple yet fantastic Vietnamese restaurant on Buda side. From outside it looks like one of these fastfood Chinese restaurants that you find at every second corner in Budapest ans also from inside it looks fairly unspectacular. Nevertheless you will leave Hai Nam Pho Bistro with the will to come back to eat one of the Phos (Vietnamese soups) or any other dish. For me a good sign about originality and quality of the food is when people from that particular country sit in a retaurant and that is the case here. The menu is relatively small which makes the choice easy. It consists half of Phos and the other half of meat and vergetable dishes that you can order with rice or noodles. A Pho is traditionally a beaf broth made of bones with slices of beef in it as well as noodles and vegetables. But also seafood, vegetarian or other meat is possible. Regarding the other dishes you get a lot…

Budapest Nightlife & Detox – Clubs, Bars and Baths

The nightlife in Budapest is vibrant with clubs and bars spread all over the city. There are a few hotspots such as Liszt Ferenc tér, Ráday utca or Nagymező utca where the density of bars and clubs is higher however you can find nightlife spots in every part of the city. Locals say that the party on weekends rather takes place on the Pest side and that is true. All 3 above mentioned spots are located in the larger part of Budapest. Furthermore there are many events taking place in Budapest every year such as the Sziget Festival, which you shouldn’t miss, as well as one time events like concerts and performances.
However after a long night out you might want to detox in one of the famous Thermal Baths which Budapest is famous for. With its many natural springs across the country Budapest was predestined for a spa and bath landscape and the Turks finally brought this bathing culture to Budapest and Hungary.

July 2017

As there are many people coming for a party weekend trip and are interested in nightclubs and sex in Budapest I have written a small guide on what to take care of and what to expect during the weekend.